


Rock, Paper, Scissors

by Abagail_Snow



Series: The Wrestler [1]
Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types, Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins
Genre: F/M, Family, Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-08-25
Updated: 2012-08-25
Packaged: 2017-11-12 20:54:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,015
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/495536
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Abagail_Snow/pseuds/Abagail_Snow
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Peeta's brothers help him move into his house in Victor's Village.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Rock, Paper, Scissors

Peeta dropped another box onto the kitchen counter and pulled back the cardboard lid to check its contents. There wasn't much order to how the Capitol movers had packed his things. This box contained a few school supplies, a pair of sneakers, and a rolling pin. The last box contained only his winter jacket. No wonder there were so many boxes.

Peeta's eldest brother, Saleethi, came through the doors with two boxes hoisted easily on his shoulders. "Where do you want these?" he asked, but he didn't wait for an answer before he dropped them on the kitchen table.

"Is that the last of them?" Peeta asked.

"Cartee's got the rest," Saleethi said. Abandoning the boxes, he went to explore the kitchen. "So this is your new place, baby brother?"

"According to the papers," Peeta said with a nod.

"Does it have all those Capitol gadgets you were telling us about? Will machines deliver me food at my beck and call?" He picked up the telephone from the cradle and held it to his ear. "Prime rib. Mashed potatoes with sour cream." He paused to look about the room and frowned when his order didn't appear. "Must be broken," he said, hanging up the phone.

Peeta only rolled his eyes as he opened the next box to find a single frying pan.

"So, which room is mine?" his brother, Cartee said as he entered the room with the last stack of boxes.

"None of them," Peeta stated, and took the boxes from him.

Cartee placed his hands on his hips. "Katniss Everdeen is letting her mother and sister move in to her house."

"Katniss' mother is a widow," Peeta explained, "and her sister is only twelve years old. You on the other hand are eighteen, and God love our mother, but she's Dad's problem, not mine."

"What are you going to do in this giant house all alone?" Saleethi asked, opening his arms wide to better eloquently display the size of the structure.

"I can think of a few things," Cartee said cheekily. "Especially now that his girl next door is to the exact likings of his absolute fantasies."

"Would you quit it?" Peeta said, feeling his face flush slightly. "It's not like that. And besides, she lives three doors down. You can barely even see her house from here."

"So you've looked then," Saleethi joined in on the teasing.

"No," Peeta said abruptly, trying to backtrack.

"He sits in his window every night crying her name," Cartee said. "Katniss!" he cried painfully.

"Shut up!" Peeta shouted and wrapped his arm around his brother's neck to trap him in a headlock.

Cartee struggled for only a second before he swiped Peeta's legs from beneath him, and had him pinned to the floor. "Oh little brother, don't you know by now that Cartee always beats Peeta?"

"Don't get so cocky, little brother," Saleethi said, hooking his arms under Cartee's to lock his shoulders before he lifted him off Peeta. "Saleethi will always beat Cartee."

The brothers wrestled across the kitchen floor, knocking over chairs and crashing into cabinets. They only stopped when they heard a delicate clearing of a woman's throat.

Peeta scrambled onto his belly as he looked up at the kitchen door that was still propped open. Katniss Everdeen stood at the threshold, her gray eyes curious and her rosy lips tilted into an amused grin.

"Katniss, hey," Peeta said as he climbed to his feet, pausing to adjust his tee shirt and calm his hair. "You've met my brothers."

She smiled and acknowledged them both before her attention returned to Peeta. "I brought some squirrels for your father," she said, holding up her game bag.

"You've been hunting?" Peeta asked, and silently chastised himself for sounding concerned.

She held up a finger to her lips as if to remind him that it was their little secret. Their's and all of Panem's really after her performance in the Games. She held the bag out to him and said, "I don't have much need to head into town, so I thought I'd leave them for you. I'm sure now with your winnings, there's no need to replace real meat with squirrel, but I wanted to show him my thanks."

"Some days I think he prefers fried squirrel to a leg of lamb," Saleethi said with a chuckle.

"He'll be grateful, thank you," Peeta added.

"Have you had our father's famous fried squirrel?" Cartee asked, now at Peeta's side with his arm thrown over his brother's shoulder. Katniss shook her head. "Well you must try it, after all those rodents you've snagged for us. Maybe you could come to dinner sometime."

Her eyes flitted to Peeta's hesitantly before dropping to her boots. "Maybe," she said, although from her tone, Peeta could tell she was only humoring them. "Well I'll let you get back to your…" she paused to look at the space of floor they were just wrestling on, "… unpacking."

With that, Katniss left, swinging the door behind her. Peeta stared at the sack of dead squirrel in his hand and frowned.

"She likes you," Saleethi said, giving Peeta a gentle pat on the shoulder.

"I don't know about that," he said, shaking off his brother's hand to throw the game bag into the icebox. "She pities me."

"When you pity someone you avoid them," Cartee reasoned. "You don't come up with excuses to see them."

Peeta looked out the window over the kitchen sink to watch Katniss make her way across the yard. She stopped where the grass met the gravel road of Victor's Village and turned back to face his house, her hand lifting above her brow to shield the sun from her eyes. Peeta wondered if she could see him through the pane glass window, and lifted his hand to wave. It took her a moment to respond, but soon she returned the gesture before hurrying off.

"You may be no good at wrestling," Cartee said, joining him at the window. "But when it comes to matters of the heart, Peeta always wins."


End file.
